NYC cost of living as a resident

[pr0p0f0l]

So I thought Columbia was solid but my biggest hesitation about the program is the cost of living in NYC compared to the salary. I've heard from several people that the taxes are fairly high. One person I know from NYC said if I were making ~48k a year, my 4K/mo would turn into ~2.5K/mo. After paying a between 1500 and 2000/mo on rent, I feel like I would be near the poverty level after bills/food.

Can any residents or people from NYC comment on this? Are you living on scraps like undergrad again or do you have enough left over to enjoy yourself? I don't expect residency to be the place where I save money, but I just wanted to know what to expect. Thanks in advance everyone and good luck on the match.

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[2win]

So I thought Columbia was solid but my biggest hesitation about the program is the cost of living in NYC compared to the salary. I've heard from several people that the taxes are fairly high. One person I know from NYC said if I were making ~48k a year, my 4K/mo would turn into ~2.5K/mo. After paying a between 1500 and 2000/mo on rent, I feel like I would be near the poverty level after bills/food.

Can any residents or people from NYC comment on this? Are you living on scraps like undergrad again or do you have enough left over to enjoy yourself? I don't expect residency to be the place where I save money, but I just wanted to know what to expect. Thanks in advance everyone and good luck on the match.

I was a fellow at Rockefeller long ...time ago. I used to live in Queens and to take the train for Manhattan. My income was closed to yours and the rent at that time was 1200$/month.
For me wasn't like living on the poverty line because I came from a country where I used to make less than that. I would believe now that you are right - you gonna have less in your pocket during the residency compared with your other colleagues doing the residency in places with lower cost of living. I do think that you can manage to survive for 4 years.
Columbia I believe offers some subsidies for their resident including housing. NY is a great place for a young mind!
I would say to don't be worried about the cost of living - NY is expensive for a reason....

 

[doctor712]

Once you leave Manhattan and start commuting, you might be saving on rent, but don't forget getting in and out of the city, and up to 168th and Broadway. I used to commute to P&S, where I worked, and it was EASILY 400$ a month. That was from Long Island, granted. The LIRR was 275 a month, for the monthly and the SUBWAY was 60$, maybe a little more for the unlimited. Add on to that a few extra cab rides here and there and the Times or magazine to read (you won't be light on reading materials) and you're talking 300-400 from LIRR. Stick with Subways and skip the LIRR from Queens and Brooklyn and you'll be at less than 100, however, good luck in the winter or summer when subway fails, or you're on call etc etc, or you just DONT feel like changing trains 3-4 times to get up to P&S.

And time, it's just insane once you leave upper west side.

My 2 cents, because the hospital is so far uptown, live wherever the resident housing is up there, maybe its those apts where the med students are. I forget. Don't wander too far from work.

And yes, 48K, which is less than 4K a month 🙂 btw, will not go far AT ALL in NYC in 2010. Don't expect to be going downtown to the Village or Meatpacking to ritzy restaurants/bars/clubs on that too often. NYC tax is indeed tacked onto NYS and FED.

D712

 

[ChcltSltyBlls]

So I thought Columbia was solid but my biggest hesitation about the program is the cost of living in NYC compared to the salary. I've heard from several people that the taxes are fairly high. One person I know from NYC said if I were making ~48k a year, my 4K/mo would turn into ~2.5K/mo. After paying a between 1500 and 2000/mo on rent, I feel like I would be near the poverty level after bills/food.

Can any residents or people from NYC comment on this? Are you living on scraps like undergrad again or do you have enough left over to enjoy yourself? I don't expect residency to be the place where I save money, but I just wanted to know what to expect. Thanks in advance everyone and good luck on the match.

One of my best friends is at Columbia's anesthesiology program so I'll try to make some comments.

1.) Salary: As an intern you can expect about $1400 every 2 weeks after taxes. They usually raise the salary every year, but this is a pretty safe estimate. Columbia does offer a $3000/year bonus to help offset the cost of living. This ends up being about $1600 after taxes.

2.) Cost of living: Getting a roommate is a great idea. One can get a decent 1 bedroom apartment for $2400-$3000/month. Put up a wall, and you got yourself a 2 bedroom apartment for $1200-$1500/month. This is definitely doable on your salary. If you don't have a roommate you can still get a decent studio apartment for under $1500/month. Most residents live on the Upper West Side. Some live a bit farther south down to Hell's Kitchen. Others live in Harlem, Lower East Side, New Jersey, etc... Few actually live near the hospital. Commutes to the hospital are not horrible if you live on the West side of Manhattan. You can live as far south as 42 St and it will take about 30-40 minutes to get to the hospital.

3.) Quality of life: As you said you are likely not going to be able to save any money. If you have student loans to pay back you may not be able to make much of a dent in that debt. However, you'll have money to have fun in NYC. The residents at Columbia are a lot of fun. And like 2win said, NY is expensive for a reason. That being said, it is NYC, which is not for everyone. Make sure you could live in NYC.

4.) Columbia's program. My friend is so happy to be at Columbia's program. Great learning, decent hours, great group of residents. He has no regrets for ranking Columbia.

If you have any other questions send me a message.

-Chef

 

[geogil]

One of my best friends is at Columbia's anesthesiology program so I'll try to make some comments.

1.) Salary: As an intern you can expect about $1400 every 2 weeks after taxes. They usually raise the salary every year, but this is a pretty safe estimate. Columbia does offer a $3000/year bonus to help offset the cost of living. This ends up being about $1600 after taxes.

2.) Cost of living: Getting a roommate is a great idea. One can get a decent 1 bedroom apartment for $2400-$3000/month. Put up a wall, and you got yourself a 2 bedroom apartment for $1200-$1500/month. This is definitely doable on your salary. If you don't have a roommate you can still get a decent studio apartment for under $1500/month. Most residents live on the Upper West Side. Some live a bit farther south down to Hell's Kitchen. Others live in Harlem, Lower East Side, New Jersey, etc... Few actually live near the hospital. Commutes to the hospital are not horrible if you live on the West side of Manhattan. You can live as far south as 42 St and it will take about 30-40 minutes to get to the hospital.

3.) Quality of life: As you said you are likely not going to be able to save any money. If you have student loans to pay back you may not be able to make much of a dent in that debt. However, you'll have money to have fun in NYC. The residents at Columbia are a lot of fun. And like 2win said, NY is expensive for a reason. That being said, it is NYC, which is not for everyone. Make sure you could live in NYC.

4.) Columbia's program. My friend is so happy to be at Columbia's program. Great learning, decent hours, great group of residents. He has no regrets for ranking Columbia.

If you have any other questions send me a message.

-Chef

That is insanity. As a guy with a family, that is lunacy to even contemplate! I knew NYC was expensive, but that is unbelievable. I'll stay in the midwest to train, it looks like.

 

[RedAnesthesia]

One of my best friends is at Columbia's anesthesiology program so I'll try to make some comments.

1.) Salary: As an intern you can expect about $1400 every 2 weeks after taxes. They usually raise the salary every year, but this is a pretty safe estimate. Columbia does offer a $3000/year bonus to help offset the cost of living. This ends up being about $1600 after taxes.

2.) Cost of living: Getting a roommate is a great idea. One can get a decent 1 bedroom apartment for $2400-$3000/month. Put up a wall, and you got yourself a 2 bedroom apartment for $1200-$1500/month. This is definitely doable on your salary. If you don't have a roommate you can still get a decent studio apartment for under $1500/month. Most residents live on the Upper West Side. Some live a bit farther south down to Hell's Kitchen. Others live in Harlem, Lower East Side, New Jersey, etc... Few actually live near the hospital. Commutes to the hospital are not horrible if you live on the West side of Manhattan. You can live as far south as 42 St and it will take about 30-40 minutes to get to the hospital.

3.) Quality of life: As you said you are likely not going to be able to save any money. If you have student loans to pay back you may not be able to make much of a dent in that debt. However, you'll have money to have fun in NYC. The residents at Columbia are a lot of fun. And like 2win said, NY is expensive for a reason. That being said, it is NYC, which is not for everyone. Make sure you could live in NYC.

4.) Columbia's program. My friend is so happy to be at Columbia's program. Great learning, decent hours, great group of residents. He has no regrets for ranking Columbia.

If you have any other questions send me a message.

-Chef

That is insanity. As a guy with a family, that is lunacy to even contemplate! I knew NYC was expensive, but that is unbelievable. I'll stay in the midwest to train, it looks like.

No doubt geogil. I can land a mortgage payment here in the Midwest for half their rent here. I will never understand why people shell out that kind of cash to live in dinky place but that is exactly why NYC is not for everybody. I will take my Midwest way of life that is safe for kids along with cheap cost of living.

 

[Spacedman]

That is insanity. As a guy with a family, that is lunacy to even contemplate! I knew NYC was expensive, but that is unbelievable. I'll stay in the midwest to train, it looks like.

this wasn't my experience at all. i spent 5 years living on the UWS below 100th, great neighborhood, lots of young people, restaurants & bars. i found a rent stabilized apt on craigslist (1BR @ $1700), 20-25 min commute to P&S on the express train, which stopped a block from my apt. large enough for a wife & kid (for a little while anyway). admittedly our rent was below market, decent 1BRs in the area are probably $2000-2400. definitely not cheap, and pretty tiny for the $ if you're coming from a smaller city, but we were happy enough with it.

 

[Jeff05]

go to sinai. you can moonlight internally and make bank. there is also sinai subsidized housing which is pretty nice. this is the only program in the city which makes residency affordable. i was able to make out roth iras for myself and my wife the entire 3 years there, while going out to nice dinners/bars, etc.

 

[Sdp]

That is insanity. As a guy with a family, that is lunacy to even contemplate! I knew NYC was expensive, but that is unbelievable. I'll stay in the midwest to train, it looks like.

What I found to be insane was what you actually get for that $2000. I had heard of the outrageous rents but I assumed that in exchange you must get a big, new apt with hardwood floors and granite countertops with a view of Central Park. Definitely not the case. Always had this infatuation with living in NYC but after interviewing, I was sorely disappointed. 😎

 

[countingdays]

What I found to be insane was what you actually get for that $2000. I had heard of the outrageous rents but I assumed that in exchange you must get a big, new apt with hardwood floors and granite countertops with a view of Central Park. Definitely not the case. Always had this infatuation with living in NYC but after interviewing, I was sorely disappointed. 😎

I lived there for a few months in med school. $1600 for an apartment above West 100th on a fairly shady block. We had a drug dealer on the stoop all day, though he didn't bother me still pretty interesting, occasional bums pissing by the door, and neighbors who made it impossible to read with their music and screaming parrots.
$9 for a $3 beer, $12 for a $5 drink and a cover charge to add insult to injury. Transportation was the only thing that saves you money, but you pay in time; 20 -30 minutes to reach a destination 2 miles away.

Other than the prices and neighbors, I liked NY a lot. It'd probably be great if you were wealthy.

 

[sethco]

This is what amazes me about everybody loving the Boston, San Diego, Chicago, LA, NYC, San Fran, etc. programs so much. I don't see why people would want to be in these places and be struggling so much from month to month, especially if you have a spouse and kids. 1 BD for anything over 1200 is Insane!!! With kids I would need at least a 2 BD, probably even a 3 BD. Can't imagine how much that would be in a decent neighborhood.

I have said it before and I will say it again. There are tons of great programs in locations that are very easy to live comfortably on a residents salary. Some locations, you may even be able to buy (even though I would not recommend doing so). A couple that come to mind are Hopkins, UVA, UNC, Duke, Cleveland Clinic, Penn, Pitt, Michigan, Wisconsin, UTSW, Wash U, OK and MCV. All of these are in (at least) decent sized metro areas that are very affordable and you will get great training at. I have just named a couple and am sure that there are a ton more with great reputations.

 

[darkmansaad]

Well not many people in NYC have a wife and kids...and if they do they are usually loaded. Families tend to live out in brooklyn, queens, long island. Can still be pricey however, which is why its not for everyone

 

[yasawa]

Well not many people in NYC have a wife and kids...and if they do they are usually loaded. Families tend to live out in brooklyn, queens, long island. Can still be pricey however, which is why its not for everyone

I'm currently an anesthesiology resident in new york. Yeah, the cost of living is kind of crazy but its not like its a surprise. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I was paying $500 during med school for my apt now im paying $1400 to share a 1 bedroom apartment. NYC is not for everyone but it is def worth it for me to pay the extra cash and have the opportunity to live here for a set period of time. The training is amazing and in terms of location, it is far better than SF or Boston, which is why I chose to be here. Boston is really not that much different and I have friends at the Brigham who are paying the same as me in rent. I think if you are young, single/married and want to live in one of the greatest cities in the world, then NYC is the place for you. If you used to living in the midwest where everything is small and sheltered then clearly NYC is not the ideal place. Essentially, you can def live in this city on a resident salary. I am by no means saving any money by living here but I am also choosing to go out 3-4 times a week for dinners, bars, shows etc. There are plenty of residents who choose to live in the less desirable areas of town, rarely eat out/go out and thus are able to save money. You can live as cheaply or as extravagantly as you want. All Im saying is that there are plenty of residents in NYC who are surviving just fine on the salaries that they are given. I think its foolish to not rank programs in NYC just b/c you are worried about the expenses.

 

[geogil]

Even if it was just me and the wife, 1400 for a 1Br is too much. I've lived in montreal and paris and I can understand the allure of the big city. For me, though, heaven is having open country roads to bike on withing 20 minute ride from my house, skiing within 2 hours, and real wilderness within 3 hours. Looks like i'll be returning to the pacific northwest when all is said and done.

 

[Licoricestick]

48000/yr??? That's it??? After 8yrs of university with the ridiculous loans that requires, that's all you get paid? Wow.

No wonder the decision of fellowship vs attending is so important for you guys.

 

[Jeff05]

48000/yr??? That's it??? After 8yrs of university with the ridiculous loans that requires, that's all you get paid? Wow.

No wonder the decision of fellowship vs attending is so important for you guys.

4 years university
4 years medical school
and 1 year internship

then we make 50k/yr in nyc for residency.
no wonder we get upset when the government/some people think we're greedy and try to cut our attending salaries even more.

 

[countingdays]

$1400 to share a 1 bedroom apartment.

I guess it depends on how much privacy and space you need.
Sharing a bedroom would be a dealbreaker for me.
I could barely stand sharing a room 14 years ago when I was a freshman in the college dorms.
Now it sounds unbearable. To each his own, but it's definately something to consider.

 

[powermd]

NYC for 3-4 years is a priceless experience. There's just so much to do every day. Having said that, there are plenty of months during residency when you hardly leave your neighborhood except to go to work.. usually cold, dark, ICU kind of months.

At Columbia lots of residents lived in the Washington Heights area and saved a lot of money that way. Families tended to live in NJ or Brooklyn. Plenty lived in the UWS as well. It was a great time in my life and I'm so glad I did it. I wouldn't want to live there full time now, as I've aged I crave more nature.

 

[dhb]

Boston is really not that much different and I have friends at the Brigham who are paying the same as me in rent.

But they're not sharing their one bedroom. Boston is way less expensive than NY
just take a look a craigslist...

 

[yasawa]

But they're not sharing their one bedroom. Boston is way less expensive than NY
just take a look a craigslist...

Dude, its listed as a "1 bedroom" but everyone in new york converts them to a 2 bedroom apt by throwing up a pressurized wall. Your living room space is a bit smaller but in the end, who cares. Its NYC and how much time are you really spending at your apt? When you're not at work you're out enjoying the city.

 

[karizma098]

1400 - 1500/month is doable for a large studio if you need your own space, yea it will probably be an "okay" studio minus the granite countertops an stainless steel appliances you would get in chicago, but youre living in nyc. stick to the upper west side or upper east side and you can get deals...chelsea isn't super expensive either compared to the village, soho, midtown or union square.

50k is definitely no way to save any money, but you can make it work. i have plenty of friends in ny - some live in 3 bedrooms and pay 4500 and split it, they are small 3 bedrooms but 3 bedrooms nonetheless. if you are married or have a gf, even if she makes 20k a year 70k is more than enough to pay 2k/month for a 1 bedroom.

when i was interviewing at a med school out there a few of the students lived on the upper west side and were paying ~ 1500-1600 for 600 sq foot studios...not grant, but fine nonetheless.

here are a couple decent places just off craigslist all for 1600 or less - without having to share .

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/nfb/1593888094.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/nfb/1593947974.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/abo/1593871630.html


its all about priorities.

 

[geogil]

1400 - 1500/month is doable for a large studio if you need your own space, yea it will probably be an "okay" studio minus the granite countertops an stainless steel appliances you would get in chicago, but youre living in nyc. stick to the upper west side or upper east side and you can get deals...chelsea isn't super expensive either compared to the village, soho, midtown or union square.

50k is definitely no way to save any money, but you can make it work. i have plenty of friends in ny - some live in 3 bedrooms and pay 4500 and split it, they are small 3 bedrooms but 3 bedrooms nonetheless. if you are married or have a gf, even if she makes 20k a year 70k is more than enough to pay 2k/month for a 1 bedroom.

when i was interviewing at a med school out there a few of the students lived on the upper west side and were paying ~ 1500-1600 for 600 sq foot studios...not grant, but fine nonetheless.

here are a couple decent places just off craigslist all for 1600 or less - without having to share .

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/nfb/1593888094.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/nfb/1593947974.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/abo/1593871630.html


its all about priorities.

I guess, but I like more bang for my housing buck. Granted I don't need a thriving night scene and trendy restaurants.

 

[DScully]

its all about priorities.

👍

I do think it is really all about priorities. NYC is not for everyone. Neither is California. Different people at different stages of life look for different things.

We are all different so just choose what you love and love what you have.